I Think We Can Safely Ignore This Scaremongering…

Britain is witnessing the emergence of “benefit blackspots” as welfare claimants are forced to move out of the towns of their choice after being evicted from rented housing by private landlords.

Says who?

Why, none other than homeless ‘charity’, Shelter.

Housing charity Shelter has warned that entire UK communities could become claimant-free zones, after the Guardian revealed on Saturday that one of Britain’s best-known landlords has sent out eviction notices to every tenant who is receiving benefits. Fergus Wilson, who owns almost 1,000 properties in Kent, has also informed letting agents that he now refuses to accept applicants who need housing benefit.

But before we al rush to agree with them, let’s take a look at how a ‘charity’ like Shelter defines homelessness.

You might be entitled to help as a homeless person if you are:

temporarily staying with friends or family

staying in a hostel or nightshelter

living in very overcrowded conditions

at risk of violence or abuse in your home

living in poor conditions that affect your health.

You may also be considered to be homeless if you are:

living somewhere where you have no legal right to stay, such as a squat.

living somewhere that you can’t afford to pay for without depriving yourself of basic essentials

forced to live apart from your family or someone you would normally live with because your accommodation isn’t suitable.

It’s pretty hard to see who that doesn’t cover, in some way or other, isn’t it?

If a single area becomes a claimant-free blackspot, the sky will fall in. There will be wailing in the streets. Votes will be lost. ‘SHELTER’ roving officer position opportunities will dry up. And…. horrors…. the Gravy Train will be derailed.

The Blocked Dwarf

January 16, 2014 at 11:09 am

Hate to say it but i have a lot of sympathy for Landlords who now refuse to accept Housing Benefits-and I say that as someone claiming Housing Benefit (I care for my disabled wife). I wouldn’t rent to benefit claimants either if I were a landlord.

Not now when the government/councils have dumped the risk onto Landlords’ shoulders.

It used to be a fairly good deal for Landlords, they rented out their property at somewhat below market value and for that they got a near certain monthly income because the council paid the rent directly to the landlord. Infact I know of landlords who felt that renting to ‘dhss’ was a far safer option than renting to people in jobs!

Now councils pay the rent to the claimants and they have to pass it on to the landlords…supposedly to help us claimants learn ‘financial responsibility’. Add to that the length of time it takes for a claim to be processed and for benefit to be paid- about 8 weeks where we are and a prospective landlord can find himself ‘out’ a couple of grand before the ink is even dry on the rent contract!

mona

January 16, 2014 at 8:39 pm

Own a thousand houses, why? I would like to see every home he owns being confiscated by his tenants, and his goodself taken to the nearest lampost.

Ken Scanes

January 16, 2014 at 8:46 pm

mona – how many houses is it permissible to own (on your planet)?

MTG

January 16, 2014 at 10:39 pm

Golly, Mona. Most would ask how rather than why.

N.B. Editorial permission assumed to use the word ‘golly’ on a thread where the word ‘blackspot’ has been deployed.

Councils own far more and insist on putting benefit scroungers in them.

Lynne at Counting Cats

January 18, 2014 at 9:47 am

mona would prefer to resort to theft and murder to obtain a home rather than coming by a property honestly.

Sod off back to your benefit blackspot, mona, and take your scummy, unearned wealth redistribution bullshit with you.

Ken Scanes

January 18, 2014 at 1:44 pm

In the absence of a reply from mona I have to assume that his/her answer to the question “how many houses is it permissible to own” is one or more likely zero.

He/she would deny me my holidays in rental cottages – not available from the council I believe. He/she would like to make a mobile workforce more difficult or virtually impossible – taking a job in a new area and taking a family with one often involves renting and rarely I understand is anything available from the council at short notice – but then I suspect that mona’s experience may fall at the “taking a job” part?